Tlacique
The Tlacique are a bloodline of the Followers of Set that reside in South America. They possesses Protean instead of the clan discipline of Serpentis, and also know a unique type of Setite Sorcery called Nahuallotl. They have an enmity with both the Camarilla and Sabbat, reaching back to the time of Christopher Columbus, when the European Kindred came over to South America and all but wiped out their mortal civilization. History The Tlacique reside in Latin America and are believed to be descended from the Followers of Set. Rather than Set, these Mesoamerican vampires venerate Tezcatlipoca, the god of the darkness and sorcery. This variant possesses Protean instead of the clan discipline of Serpentis, often taking the shape of a jaguar rather than a wolf. They also practice a unique type of shamanistic blood sorcery known as Nahuallotl. When European vampires arrived in Mexico, they found the Tlacique openly ruling over the Aztecs, Inca and other civilizations as bloodthirsty gods who demanded human sacrifices. At first the Jaguars welcomed the Camarilla, but this turned to resentment as the Spaniards destroyed the civilizations that worshiped the Tlacique. Used to ruling over mortals, the Tlacique could not understand that the Camarilla did not do the same. They allied with the Sabbat, working together to drive the Camarilla out of Mexico. But while the Sabbat gladly adopted the bloodiest elements of Tlacique ritual, they lacked the spiritual beliefs the Tlacique cherished. Soon the Sabbat turned against them too. In modern nights, the Tlacique are widely believed to be extinct by the few Kindred outside of the bloodline who even remember their existence. However, a handful of bitter survivors persist on the fringes of vampire society, scattered from the jungles and mountains of South America to barrios in the American Southwest. They Embrace exclusively from Native American groups, still resenting the European destruction of their homelands. Increasingly, they are forming an alliance with the Pisanob Necromancers. Culture Just as the Followers of Set claim to be descended from the Egyptian god Set, the Tlacique claim to be descended from Tezcatlipoca. There is common ground between the two deities (darkness, the night sky, winds, hurricanes, etc.) that brings them into harmony with the wider Clan. Indeed, before the arrival of the Spanish in Mesoamerica, the bloodline ruled over the mortals as Gods, mirroring the goal of many Setites around the world. Nevertheless, the chief concern that many Setites have about their Mesoamerican brethren is their inherent Clan disciplines. Unlike Serpentis-wielding Setites around the world, the Tlacique display the art of Protean instead. If Set, albeit through another mask, Embraced the founder of the bloodline, why should he have changed the blessings he imparted upon his followers? Unfortunately, following the near-genocide of the bloodline conducted by the Camarilla and the Sabbat shortly after their arrival in the New World, the eldest of the bloodline no longer exist to provide a definitive answer to such a question. Instead, young Setites can only speculate and wonder if they have mistakenly adopted some obscure and dangerously ambitious Gangrel bloodline. References * * Category:Followers of Set Category:Bloodlines (VTM)